The most ridiculous complaint made about the Academy Awards, which invites legitimate criticism, is that the ceremony has become a soapbox for naysayers. Just last year, Goldie Hawn suggested they were becoming “politicized.” There is always someone decrying the supposed orgy of propaganda while praising a distant era when stars never dreamed of touching on sensitive topics.
The debate seems especially hollow this awards season. As we passed the Golden Globes, moved on to the Baftas, and from there to the Screen Actors Guild Awards, award winners and red carpet attendees were, with a few exceptions, noticeably silent about the continuing conflict in Gaza. . The most controversial issues of this era did not disrupt structured backing much.
Compare this to Vanessa Redgrave’s famous (and infamous) “Zionist Thug” acceptance speech at the 1978 Oscars. Months of controversy followed her Best Supporting Actress win for Fred Zinnemann’s Julia. Redgrave, a stalwart of the now-defunct Workers’ Revolutionary Party, recently produced and narrated the documentary The Palestinian, which some saw as supporting the Palestine Liberation Organization. On the day of the ceremony, members of the Jewish Defense League burned an effigy of her, and counter-protesters waved Palestinian flags.
Academy president Howard Koch urged her to just say “thank you” if she won, but that wasn’t Redgrave’s style. She wrapped this controversial phrase in her clear argument for tolerance, and while her character in Julia resisted the Nazis in the run-up to World War II, she specifically emphasized her resistance to anti-Semitism. did.
Upon hearing the word “thug,” the audience makes a noise that’s somewhere between a grunt and a collective (how fittingly clichéd) intake of breath.
Nevertheless, its core text sparked outrage. A record of the stature of Jews around the world and their great and heroic struggle against fascism and oppression. ”
The reaction is clear. Upon hearing the word “thug,” the audience makes a noise somewhere between a grunt and (appropriately cliché) audible intake of breath in unison. The boos begin when she points out similarities to the activities of Joseph McCarthy and Richard Nixon, which, remember, is just 20 years after Hollywood’s anti-communist witch hunt. Afterwards, Paddy Chayefsky, who won the screenplay award for “Network,” scolded “Miss Redgrave” from the podium. Ms. Koch remembers a time when she sat ignored at her party. She had only two bodyguards with her.
No matter what happens at next weekend’s Oscar ceremony, there’s little chance such uncompromising words will be aired. The word “Zionist” is used much harsher now than it was in 1978. No one would take more extreme risks than a “thug.”
Does anyone say anything? Sasheen Littlefeather, who replaced Marlon Brando in 1972, protested the treatment of Native Americans. Richard Gere advocated for Tibet in a 1993 speech, and Michael Moore denounced George W. Bush’s “imaginary” presidency in 2003. And it went on and on. But the current award history barely whispers (from either ‘side’) about the issue that has dominated the news since October.
Last year’s Golden Globe Awards, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke, went unmentioned. The Screen Actors Guild ceremony was similarly uneventful. At Baftas, James Wilson, producer of the hard-hitting Holocaust drama Zone of Interest, has found a space to offer a balanced call for peace. “We should care about the innocent people killed in Gaza and Yemen as much as we care about the innocent people killed in Mariupol and Israel,” he said. That was it.
[ Michael Winterbottom: ‘The film is about political violence. That theme is acutely relevant with what’s going on in Gaza’ ]
At the Independent Spirit Awards, which were presented in tents on the beach, celebrities were forced to acknowledge the conflict as protesters blasted pre-recorded messages in support of the Palestinians from just outside. Ta. “I don’t understand what they’re saying,” commented John Cassavetes Award winner Babak Jalali. “But whatever they’re saying is probably far more important than anything I’m about to say.”
Journalist Richard Lawson, speaking on the podcast Little Gold Men, said he felt the protests had done enough. “Everyone who was there, and those watching at home, became aware that what was happening in Gaza and the extravagant awards ceremony were running very parallel,” he said. Told.
In the first week of January, Brooks Burns wrote in the New York Times that “publicists and agents are advising their celebrity clients not to say anything about the Israel-Hamas war.” It was reported.
Things were different at the Berlin Film Festival. A political uproar occurred when he gave a pro-Palestinian speech at the closing ceremony. In a strange coda, Federal Culture Minister Claudia Roth, who was criticized for applauding, was forced to clarify that her applause was “directed at Jewish-Israeli journalist and filmmaker Yuval Abraham.” I no longer get it. And probably no one else.
So what’s going on behind the scenes at Gong Trail? Why has loudmouth Hollywood remained so silent? Well, the award itself is also a factor. In the first week of January, Brooks Burns reported in the New York Times that “publicists and agents are advising their celebrity clients not to say anything about the Israel-Hamas war.” . He was afraid that “a carelessly chosen word could ruin my expectations for the Oscars.”
The famous “liberal consensus” simply does not apply here. If you attack Donald Trump, you can expect only a small segment of the Hollywood community to get upset. The same was true for aid to Ukraine. But more divisions have emerged over the current conflict. And, of course, there are those who naturally prefer to always keep their beliefs to themselves.
Voting is now closed. No matter what is said next Sunday night, that award cannot be taken away. We may still see some of the most politically heated ceremonies in decades. But I don’t count on that. The depth of feelings on this issue is understandable, so almost any expression can provoke public anger. Perhaps the gentle musings of this column may be the same.
